16 Comments

General CommentI listened to this song for the first time on 1983, when I was 7 years old, on my uncle's house. I loved this record because Hey! It was made by robots! I used to breakdance listening to this and other songs without ever knowing the merit behind its composition nor its historical value, but I really dug it each time the record player played it.

Years later, on 1994, I found an old cassette which contained this song, and I payed attention to it on a more introspective time of my life, and feeling its outdated flavor get right into my veins. The anchronistic sound of those keyboards, mixed with a robotic voice made the perfect emulation of artificial flesh... and so the beating of an artificial heart, waiting for a reason to beat.

As unexpected clairvoyants, Kraftwerk predicted many phenomena of our technonlogical society and this one is no exception: hordes of internet users now use their computers to find love in the form of another person, for whatever reason they have. The point is that what sounded ironic on the first half of the eighties, today is part of our world.

That's, for me, the magic of this song: it gets to be heartbreakingly sweet using cold and mechanical sounds, and it acts like a glass ball taken directly from the past.

General CommentI am going to have to agree with D4MVP. This is gospel that I have been preaching for years now. Kraftwerk's influence into the world of Hip Hop, R&B, and all sorts of electronica easily cover more ground than rock. I love rock but where is it today compared with all of these other forms. The evidence is incontravertable.

Kraftwerk may have invented Electronic music, and influenced multiple genres today, but they probably would not have been the same without The Beatles. All music is interconnected, and The Beatles were the primary force at the time. Influence is intangible.

The Beatles had a far greater reach than simply in the area of Rock, they changed everything, and I would go as far as to say they experimented more than Kraftwerk ever have considering the timeframes. The Beatles did anything and everything, and reinvented music itself.

Saying that Kraftwerk were better and more influential is like saying Chuck Berry, or Miles Davis, Or Howlin' Wolf, or Robert Johnson all suck because music no longer sounds like classical jazz or early rock and roll.

While personal taste is subjective, I would strongly contest your claims that they are more influential.

By the way, I really like Kraftwerk, just so it's clear that this is not an attack on the band.

General CommentThere would be no electronic music today, at least not in its present form, without Kraftwerk. We all owe them so much, and thankfully, even young kids getting into dance music and electronica realise it. I'll adore their music until the day I die.

General CommentTheir lyrics aren't the best, but I am in love with their music. Yes, it is about being lonely, and having only the computer to be with...Thank you to my dad for introducing them to me. I am very open minded about music and I'm so glad he brought these guys up. I hope they tour Australia one day. This song makes me feel sad yet happy, like many of their other songs. My heart is beating faster for some reason.

General CommentI really wish people would stop talking about finding love on the internet and see what this song is really about. Some people love their computers the way other people love their cars.
This isn't about love by means of a computer, it's about love for the computer.
And yes, I love all my computers, my Windows box, my Linux box, my Cell Phone, my [pocket] graphing calculator, my MP3 player. I love them the way my friend loves his Corvette.
This song is about the computer itself, not the dating websites that wouldn't be invented for another few decades.